Resizing line drawing blurs lines and numbers. Help.

[BG]

Hi All:

Am currently stuck on a project am working on. I have a client that has a
bunch of gifs of engineers drawings of widgets. He does not have the
original pics. He wants me to take these pics and put them into a paper
catalog - a first for this webmaster. The problem is I will have to resize
a number of them to fit into the format I am laying out. You can see what's
happening as I attempt to resize these graphics at [url]www.bobspasteuppage.com[/url].
Each time I resize down, the lines become fuzzier and the numbers and
symbols become unreadable. Any ideas on what I can do? TIA!!!!

Bob

[Sam Poikail]

Just out of curiousity.... When you say "a bunch of GIFs" ... how many are
you talking about? Just looked at the sample page, and I was wondering
something.

Cheers,
Sam

"BG" <bgnospaaam@brightnospaaam.net> wrote in message
news:bghqd8$irg$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> Hi All:
>
> Am currently stuck on a project am working on. I have a client that has a
> bunch of gifs of engineers drawings of widgets. He does not have the
> original pics. He wants me to take these pics and put them into a paper
> catalog - a first for this webmaster. The problem is I will have to

resize

> a number of them to fit into the format I am laying out. You can see

what's

> happening as I attempt to resize these graphics at

[url]www.bobspasteuppage.com[/url].

> Each time I resize down, the lines become fuzzier and the numbers and
> symbols become unreadable. Any ideas on what I can do? TIA!!!!
>
> Bob
>
>

[Tom Unger]

BG;
Gif format is not designed for print, but you didn't provide information
on the print requirements. If you are able to use the images you probably
will need to convert them to a more suitable format such as tiff, and once
you raise the resolution the images may be OK (or too small). If the images
are all line drawings as with your sample, and the budget allows, you might
consider converting them to vector graphics. If you have the studio,
Freehand's trace tool may prove helpful.
-Tom Unger

[BG]

"Sam Poikail" <indigo_wolf@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bghsra$lkg$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> That just the nature of GIFs being raster/bitmaps images. When you reduce
> it, it has to dump pixels, and at some point it's going to be

unacceptable.

>
> There's no way to get the original DXF files, at all? (I am assuming they
> originally came out of a CAD program)
>
> If the answer is no, about the best you are going to be able to do is
> display the smaller files as thumbnails and display the full size images
> upon request either in a new page or on the same page within a layer.
>
> Cheers,
> Sam
>
> "BG" <bgnospaaam@brightnospaaam.net> wrote in message
> news:bghqd8$irg$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> > Hi All:
> >
> > Am currently stuck on a project am working on. I have a client that has

a

> > bunch of gifs of engineers drawings of widgets. He does not have the
> > original pics. He wants me to take these pics and put them into a paper
> > catalog - a first for this webmaster. The problem is I will have to

> resize

> > a number of them to fit into the format I am laying out. You can see

> what's

> > happening as I attempt to resize these graphics at

> [url]www.bobspasteuppage.com[/url].

> > Each time I resize down, the lines become fuzzier and the numbers and
> > symbols become unreadable. Any ideas on what I can do? TIA!!!!
> >
> > Bob

Hi Sam:

First off, there's no way to get the originals. Secondly, it will be in
print format, so thumbnails isn't an option. Thanks for your suggestions.

Bob

[BG]

There's probably about 25 total.

"Sam Poikail" <indigo_wolf@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bghtfg$m8i$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> Just out of curiousity.... When you say "a bunch of GIFs" ... how many are
> you talking about? Just looked at the sample page, and I was wondering
> something.
>
> Cheers,
> Sam
>
> "BG" <bgnospaaam@brightnospaaam.net> wrote in message
> news:bghqd8$irg$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> > Hi All:
> >
> > Am currently stuck on a project am working on. I have a client that has

a

> > bunch of gifs of engineers drawings of widgets. He does not have the
> > original pics. He wants me to take these pics and put them into a paper
> > catalog - a first for this webmaster. The problem is I will have to

> resize

> > a number of them to fit into the format I am laying out. You can see

> what's

> > happening as I attempt to resize these graphics at

> [url]www.bobspasteuppage.com[/url].

> > Each time I resize down, the lines become fuzzier and the numbers and
> > symbols become unreadable. Any ideas on what I can do? TIA!!!!
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >

>
>

[BG]

"Tom Unger" <tjunger@entakeoutter.net> wrote in message
news:bghv0i$nor$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> BG;
> Gif format is not designed for print, but you didn't provide

information

> on the print requirements. If you are able to use the images you probably
> will need to convert them to a more suitable format such as tiff, and once
> you raise the resolution the images may be OK (or too small). If the

images

> are all line drawings as with your sample, and the budget allows, you

might

> consider converting them to vector graphics. If you have the studio,
> Freehand's trace tool may prove helpful.
> -Tom Unger
>

Hi Tom:

I just tried the trace tool and it didn't do very well on those graphics.
Also tried the conversion to tiff and bumped up resolution to no avail. I
went ahead and sent an email to the manufacturer in Amsterdam requesting the
original dxf files or a paper catalog. I doubt they will respond, so I will
probably have to go through and redraw everything using the pen tool if I
want these graphics to look right when they are resized - big bummer.
Thanks for your help anyway!!

Bob

[Kim Cavanaugh]

Bob--

I've had pretty good success using the Trace tool for line drawings like
that. The key is to set the trace properties correctly.

Double click the trace tool to bring up the Trace properties dialog.

Set the Color mode to 2, the colors to Grays, Path conversion to Outline,
Path overlap to tight and Trace conformity to tight. Once the trace is done
copy the vectors and paste into a new document.

In testing your image I was able to get the line drawing reproduced very
well. The numbers didn't look quite as good, but that should still save you
a lot of work.

Kim

--
Kim Cavanaugh, author
Beginner's Guides to Dreamweaver and Fireworks
[url]http://www.dw-fw-beginners.com[/url]
------------
Extending Knowledge Daily at:
[url]http://www.communitymx.com[/url]
------------
Team Macromedia Volunteer for Fireworks
[url]http://www.macromedia.com/go/team[/url]
"BG" <bgnospaaam@brightnospaaam.net> wrote in message
news:bgivdi$t6f$1@forums.macromedia.com...

>
> "Tom Unger" <tjunger@entakeoutter.net> wrote in message
> news:bghv0i$nor$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> > BG;
> > Gif format is not designed for print, but you didn't provide

> information

> > on the print requirements. If you are able to use the images you

probably

> > will need to convert them to a more suitable format such as tiff, and

once

> > you raise the resolution the images may be OK (or too small). If the

> images

> > are all line drawings as with your sample, and the budget allows, you

> might

> > consider converting them to vector graphics. If you have the studio,
> > Freehand's trace tool may prove helpful.
> > -Tom Unger
> >

>
> Hi Tom:
>
> I just tried the trace tool and it didn't do very well on those graphics.
> Also tried the conversion to tiff and bumped up resolution to no avail. I
> went ahead and sent an email to the manufacturer in Amsterdam requesting

the

> original dxf files or a paper catalog. I doubt they will respond, so I

will

> probably have to go through and redraw everything using the pen tool if I
> want these graphics to look right when they are resized - big bummer.
> Thanks for your help anyway!!
>
> Bob
>
>

[Ilya Razmanov]

"BG" <bgnospaaam@brightnospaaam.net> wrote in message
news:bghqd8$irg$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> Hi All:
>
> Am currently stuck on a project am working on. I have a client that has a
> bunch of gifs of engineers drawings of widgets. He does not have the
> original pics. He wants me to take these pics and put them into a paper
> catalog - a first for this webmaster. The problem is I will have to

resize

> a number of them to fit into the format I am laying out. You can see

what's

> happening as I attempt to resize these graphics at

[url]www.bobspasteuppage.com[/url].

> Each time I resize down, the lines become fuzzier and the numbers and
> symbols become unreadable. Any ideas on what I can do? TIA!!!!
>
> Bob

I must admit I don't quite understand you. You're talking about *paper* yet
give us the web-based example. If you're talking about the *paper*, then you
don't actually have to *resize down* - that is, you don't have to have the
images with lesser size *in pixels*. You better just set the corresponding
resolution, that's all. In fact, you may need *increasing* pixel count
(i.e., rescale image "up" in pixels) yet increase resolution (decreasing
image size in inches); in such a case, it is recommended to apply some
sharpening in the process. Anyway, if you're talking about "paper" output,
don't be referring to "screen" output under screen resolution.

And if you're going to reduce image size, in pixels, yet keep the text and
stuff readable *on screen*, there's a trick: do not resize the image in one
step. Resize it in several smaller steps, applying some Unsharp Masking
between them.

Hope this helped. Otherwise, please explain the problem more carefully
because I don't really get it.

Ilyich.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ilya Razmanov (a.k.a. Ilyich the Toad)
[url]http://photoshop.msk.ru/[/url] - Photoshop plug-in filters
"Hmmm... as general rule, corpses aren't too much fun" - Umgah,
Star Control II
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[BG]

Hi Kim:

Wow!! That was precisely what I needed and I never would have figured it
out on my own. Much gratitude and good wishes sent your way. Hope you have
an awesome day.

Bob
"Kim Cavanaugh" <REMOVEkim@dw-fw-beginners.com> wrote in message
news:bgivvl$f6$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> Bob--
>
> I've had pretty good success using the Trace tool for line drawings like
> that. The key is to set the trace properties correctly.
>
> Double click the trace tool to bring up the Trace properties dialog.
>
> Set the Color mode to 2, the colors to Grays, Path conversion to Outline,
> Path overlap to tight and Trace conformity to tight. Once the trace is

done

> copy the vectors and paste into a new document.
>
> In testing your image I was able to get the line drawing reproduced very
> well. The numbers didn't look quite as good, but that should still save

you

> a lot of work.
>
> Kim
>
> --
> Kim Cavanaugh, author
> Beginner's Guides to Dreamweaver and Fireworks
> [url]http://www.dw-fw-beginners.com[/url]
> ------------
> Extending Knowledge Daily at:
> [url]http://www.communitymx.com[/url]
> ------------
> Team Macromedia Volunteer for Fireworks
> [url]http://www.macromedia.com/go/team[/url]
> "BG" <bgnospaaam@brightnospaaam.net> wrote in message
> news:bgivdi$t6f$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> >
> > "Tom Unger" <tjunger@entakeoutter.net> wrote in message
> > news:bghv0i$nor$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> > > BG;
> > > Gif format is not designed for print, but you didn't provide

> > information

> > > on the print requirements. If you are able to use the images you

> probably

> > > will need to convert them to a more suitable format such as tiff, and

> once

> > > you raise the resolution the images may be OK (or too small). If the

> > images

> > > are all line drawings as with your sample, and the budget allows, you

> > might

> > > consider converting them to vector graphics. If you have the studio,
> > > Freehand's trace tool may prove helpful.
> > > -Tom Unger
> > >

> >
> > Hi Tom:
> >
> > I just tried the trace tool and it didn't do very well on those

graphics.

> > Also tried the conversion to tiff and bumped up resolution to no avail.

I

> > went ahead and sent an email to the manufacturer in Amsterdam requesting

> the

> > original dxf files or a paper catalog. I doubt they will respond, so I

> will

> > probably have to go through and redraw everything using the pen tool if

I

> > want these graphics to look right when they are resized - big bummer.
> > Thanks for your help anyway!!
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >

>
>

[Kim Cavanaugh]

You're most welcome. You just lucked out and happened to catch me when I'd
spent some time doing the same thing myself, and spending a fair amount of
time messing with the trace tool.

--
Kim Cavanaugh, author
Beginner's Guides to Dreamweaver and Fireworks
[url]http://www.dw-fw-beginners.com[/url]
------------
Extending Knowledge Daily at:
[url]http://www.communitymx.com[/url]
------------
Team Macromedia Volunteer for Fireworks
[url]http://www.macromedia.com/go/team[/url]
"BG" <bgnospaaam@brightnospaaam.net> wrote in message
news:bgj0qi$1bt$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> Hi Kim:
>
> Wow!! That was precisely what I needed and I never would have figured it
> out on my own. Much gratitude and good wishes sent your way. Hope you

have

> an awesome day.
>
> Bob
> "Kim Cavanaugh" <REMOVEkim@dw-fw-beginners.com> wrote in message
> news:bgivvl$f6$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> > Bob--
> >
> > I've had pretty good success using the Trace tool for line drawings like
> > that. The key is to set the trace properties correctly.
> >
> > Double click the trace tool to bring up the Trace properties dialog.
> >
> > Set the Color mode to 2, the colors to Grays, Path conversion to

Outline,

> > Path overlap to tight and Trace conformity to tight. Once the trace is

> done

> > copy the vectors and paste into a new document.
> >
> > In testing your image I was able to get the line drawing reproduced very
> > well. The numbers didn't look quite as good, but that should still save

> you

> > a lot of work.
> >
> > Kim
> >
> > --
> > Kim Cavanaugh, author
> > Beginner's Guides to Dreamweaver and Fireworks
> > [url]http://www.dw-fw-beginners.com[/url]
> > ------------
> > Extending Knowledge Daily at:
> > [url]http://www.communitymx.com[/url]
> > ------------
> > Team Macromedia Volunteer for Fireworks
> > [url]http://www.macromedia.com/go/team[/url]
> > "BG" <bgnospaaam@brightnospaaam.net> wrote in message
> > news:bgivdi$t6f$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> > >
> > > "Tom Unger" <tjunger@entakeoutter.net> wrote in message
> > > news:bghv0i$nor$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> > > > BG;
> > > > Gif format is not designed for print, but you didn't provide
> > > information
> > > > on the print requirements. If you are able to use the images you

> > probably

> > > > will need to convert them to a more suitable format such as tiff,

and

> > once

> > > > you raise the resolution the images may be OK (or too small). If the
> > > images
> > > > are all line drawings as with your sample, and the budget allows,

you

> > > might
> > > > consider converting them to vector graphics. If you have the studio,
> > > > Freehand's trace tool may prove helpful.
> > > > -Tom Unger
> > > >
> > >
> > > Hi Tom:
> > >
> > > I just tried the trace tool and it didn't do very well on those

> graphics.

> > > Also tried the conversion to tiff and bumped up resolution to no

avail.

> I

> > > went ahead and sent an email to the manufacturer in Amsterdam

requesting

> > the

> > > original dxf files or a paper catalog. I doubt they will respond, so

I

> > will

> > > probably have to go through and redraw everything using the pen tool

if

> I

> > > want these graphics to look right when they are resized - big bummer.
> > > Thanks for your help anyway!!
> > >
> > > Bob
> > >
> > >

> >
> >

>
>

[Tom Unger]

BG;
I'm glad that Kim was able to help you with the trace tool settings
(that is probably the route I would have taken). The resulting auto-traces
can be tweaked by hand, and the text replaced with live text. If not
rasterized elsewhere in the workflow, the resulting vector graphics will
print at the maximum resolution of the output device and so will look very
"clean" in print. -Tom Unger